This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for packaging a product in individual packets and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for packaging a product in individual vacuum-sealed packets.
Machines for making and filling packets containing flowable or pulverulent materials such as coffee or catsup, for example, are well known and have been used with a great degree of success. One type of such a machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,506. Further, in order to preserve the freshness of a food product and to increase its shelf life, some prior art packaging machines include means for producing a vacuum-sealed packet.
However, there is an ever increasing desire not only to improve the efficiency of such machines to the end that greater production is achieved, but also to produce a simpler and more reliable machine for packaging a product in individual vacuum-sealed packets constructed of a sheet of flexible material.